Refrigerator



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT R. W. GO'ITSCHALK, OF OTTAVA, KANSAS.

REFRIGERATOR.

SPECIFICATION'formng part of Letters Patent No. 341,472, dated May 11, 1885.

Application filed November 2l, 1885. Serial No. 183,507. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT R. XV. GOTTS- CHALK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ottawa, in the county of Franklin and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Ilnprovements in Refrigerators; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, and to the letters and iigures ofreference marked thereon.

Figure l is a sectional view of a refrigerator embodying my invention; Fig. 2, adetailview, in perspective and on an enlarged scale, of the ice-pan,and Fig. 3 a transverse section thereof.

The present invention has relation to certain new and useful improvements in refrigerators and in the ice-pans therefor; and the object thereof is to improve their construction, whereby a circulation of pure cold dry air with the least possible ventilation from outside resources, is secured,' or, in other words, to guard as much as practicable against the outer air and moisture, whereby any article of food will be prcservedin snch a manner as to prevent its decomposing; also, to prevent the most susceptible substance from lreing contaminated by the odor, be it good or bad, of any other article within the refrigerator and without wasting the ice.

A further object of t-he invention is to provide means whereby the action of the warmer air passing around the ice and displacing the colder air, creates by the current thus established sufficient ventilation that will in consequence expel such warm air and `foul gases arising from the food placed on the shelves; also,` constructing the ice-pan in such manner as to prevent any accumulation of moisture or condensation underneath, which otherwise would be produced by the contact of warmer air entering the colder' atmosphere, thereby rendering the refrigerator absolutely. free from dampness, and the air kept at all times dry and pure. These several `obj ect-s I attain by the construction substantially as shown in the drawings, and hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents the preserving chamber of the refrigerator with any suitable arrangement of slatted shelves. In the present instance I have shown three shelves, a b c, thetwo upper ones extend ing only to the vertical partition d and resting on cleats c, secured to the side of thepreserving-chamber and `to the partition; the lower shelf, c, extending the enti re width of the chamber, and also supported on cleatsf. An outer casing, B, surrounds the walls of the preserving-chamber A in such manner as to leave an airspace, g, between the walls and casing, which extends entirely around the four walls, as shown in Fig. 1.

The partition d divides a part ofthe chamber A into a compartment, C, for theice, said compartment having suitable cleats, h, for sup porting thereon an ice-pan. rIhis ice-pan is of peculiar construction, consisting of a double incline bottom, D, the incline sidesjoining a central drip channel, i, which communicates with the upper endof adischarge-pipe, E, extending down through the lower wallof the chamber A and through the bottom of the casing B, and terminates in a trap, Z. Iminediately under the double incline bottom D,and extending the entire area of its surface, is an air-tight chamber, F, and thebottom has above it a confining-rim', G, to retain the ice in the pan. This rim G is held some distance above the bottoni D of the pan by means of supports k, and the rim has an inwardly-inclnedtlange, m, to receive the drippings from the ice and conduct them onto the bottom, from whence it passes into the drip-channel t' into and down the pipe E, always leaving asufiicient amount of water in the trap l to prevent the entrance of air. -The pan is provided with the usual grating for supporting the ice, and the pan is removable from the compartment C, when de' si red, for cleaning eaother purposes, thepipe E being` detachable therefrom. rl`he ai r-tight chamber F isto prevent the adhesion or gathering of any moisture or condensation on the bottom of the pan, which without such chamber would naturally occur when, by opening the doors of the refrigerator, the entering warm outer air would come in contact with a colder surface. By the employment of the air-tight chamber the bottom of the pan is always kept dry and free from moisture. The inner .side of the casing B is preferably lined with refri gerator paper felt, 7 which isa non-conducting material, thus lessening considerably the consumption of ice. The chamber A and cas ing B are held a proper distance apart to form IOO the air-space g by means of the stays mwhich are perforated to allow of an easy and free circulation of air through the space and around the preserving-chamber. The Warm air coniing` in 'contact with the ice and getting cooler will pass over theice-pan through the preserving-chamber A downward, and gravitate toward the bottom of the chamber, as indicated by the arrows, and thence enter through aperture p into the surrounding space g, after which it rises and enters again the preservingchamber through the apertures 1 and again be attracted by the ice through the perforation or aperture s in the partition d, and in the side wall of the chamber into the compartment C, and so on, creating acontinuous rotarymotion ofthe air, and thereby cooling and purifying the atmosphere of the provision-chamber, and at the saine time expelling the warmer air and foul gases through the aperture t in the casing B.

Having now fully described my invention, whatI claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with a refrigerator, of an icepan provided with a closed air-chamber, a double inclined bottoni having a drip-chanvwardly-inclined flange around its four sides,

said rim being supportedV above the bottom of 3o the pan to leave a space for the passage of the circulating air, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination of a refrigerator provided with an air-space around its four sides, apertures for the passage of the circulating air into the preserving-chamber and for the escape of the warm air and foul gases, suitable provision-shelves and ice-compartment,and an ice-pan having a closed air-chamber, a double inclined bottom formed with a. drip-channel, a flanged rim supported above the bottom, and a discharge-pipe communicating with the dripchannel, extending down through the bottom of the refrigerator and provided at its end with a trap, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT R. NV. GOTTSCHALK.

Vitnesses:

GEORGE W FARRON, HENRY OTT. 

